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Welcome to Sector St. Petersburg

Coast Guard Base St. Petersburg was commissioned on
the north side of Bayboro Harbor in 1924. Sixteen
cutters ranging from 75 to 125 feet were stationed here
for the purpose of conducting anti-smuggling patrols.
The base was decommissioned in 1933 to coincide with the
lifting of Prohibition.

The Coast Guard commissioned a station on the south
side of Bayboro Harbor in 1928 and an air station was
commissioned on the north side just six years later. The
air station was constructed by the Works Projects
Administration and was home to as many as 19 sea and
scout planes during the height of WW II. The
hangar and oversized boat ramp are examples of the
facilities that remain from the original air station.

When Air Station St. Petersburg relocated to
Clearwater in 1976, Group/Station St. Petersburg moved
into the vacated facilities on the north side of the
harbor. The south side was converted into cutter
moorings for aids to navigation tenders and medium
endurance cutters. Group/Station St. Petersburg now
encompassed both the north and south side of Bayboro
Harbor totaling more than 22 acres. In 1997, the
facility underwent a reorganization that defined Sector
St. Petersburg as the host command, responsible for the
entire facility.

Sector St. Petersburg has become one of the Coast
Guard's largest commands, with its area of
responsibility encompassing 400 plus nautical miles of
coastline along Florida's west coast and the third
largest U.S. port for domestic trade. In terms of total
trade volume, including both domestic and foreign, the
Port of Tampa ranks 12th nationally. The Sector's five
multi-mission small boat stations, six patrol boats, two
aids to navigation cutters. and one aids to navigation
team have responsibility for four primary operational
missions: Search and Rescue; Marine Safety; Maritime Law
Enforcement; and Ports, Waterways Management, and
Coastal Security, and Living Marine Resources. Each year
Sector St. Petersburg personnel conduct, on average,
more than 2600 rescue cases, assisting more than 7000
people and preserving property valued at 39 million
dollars. The integrated Coast Guard team that carries
out the Group's operational missions is comprised of
over 825 Active Duty and Reserve Military Members, 27
Civilian, and 1800 Auxiliary personnel.